Question says mostly all. To be more concrete, I am talking about the popularity of Krishna and Buddhism on the religious side, and stuff like yoga on the more practical side. Some other things might be the popularity of "gurus" etc.

You've asked about "Eastern Cultures", but you've cited examples drawn from India (yes, I know that Buddhism is larger than India). Are you looking for Indian influences on American culture, or are you looking for Eastern influences?
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Mark C. WallaceJan 28 '13 at 20:01

Surely immigration from the "East" must have played a role as well e.g. as immigrants became citizens.
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DruxJan 31 '13 at 22:39

@Drux - that was not really a factor. The large scale "immigration from the "East" to which you refer was for too late to have brought about such an influence - and as someone who 'was there', I know that is not how it happened. See the answer that was marked as correct, and also my comments on it.
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user2590Jul 18 '13 at 8:03

5 Answers
5

Perhaps one of the most influential things that raised awareness and popularity with these cultures was the involvement of the Beatles in exploring their own "spiritual awareness". At the height of their popularity, they drew a lot of attention to these alternatives to spirituality. The drug culture of the late 1960's included a very large movement of American youth who were looking for alternatives to the staid lifestyles their parents had tried to impose upon them. There were other popular musicians of that period who had similar impacts, as well as a growing number of "gurus" who capitalized on it, but the timing of the Beatle's interest and the rise of the popular drug culture combined to encourage a lot of youth to start exploring other options.

Absolutely the correct answer IMO, being a 'primary source' reference for that period. LOL. The Beatles went to India, got into Transcendental Meditation, their 'guru' Maharishi Mahesh Yogi became a pop-cult icon, George Harrison brought the sitar into their music and they hobnobbed with Ravi Shankar and he became another pop-cult figure, etc. After that, everyone jumped on the bandwagon: kids started traveling to India and Nepal, exploring Buddhism, Hinduism, etc and the whole cultural/spiritual awareness of that generation was radically altered.
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user2590Jul 17 '13 at 20:40

This religio-cultural trend became a very important and influential
motif of East-West exchanges from about the last quarter of the
nineteenth century onwards - possibly the most important
religio-cultural trend, from the Indian point of view, if yoga is
understood in its broadest definition. This trend took tangible form
in 1896, our second important date, when the Indian reaction to
Western missionary efforts took shape in the counter-missionary
project of the young and influential Swami Vivekananda. The date marks
the publication of his volume on Raja Yoga. The great impression that
the Swami made at the 1893 Chicago Parliament of Religions and the
subsequent establishment of the Ramakrishna movement are usually
referred to as his main achievements.

South Asian religion entered the United States in at least three
distinct waves.

The first wave was almost purely literary: In the later half of
the eighteenth century, a group of scholar-officials working for the
British East India Company translated some of the more important Hindu
religious scriptures into English. The ideas contained in these texts
directly influenced the transcendentalist movement (evident in such
compositions as Emerson's "Over-Soul" essay) and, both directly and
indirectly, influenced New Thought. Translated Hindu scriptures also
contributed to Theosophy, and the literary presence of Hinduism was at
least partially responsible for inspiring Madame Blavatsky and Colonel
Olcott's visit to India—a visit that further reinforced the
Theo-sophical tendency to draw inspiration from Mother India.

The second wave was set in motion by a handful of Hindu
religious teachers who visited the United States in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While Protap Chunder
Mozoomdar was probably the first Hindu to lecture to American
audiences/ the reformed Hinduism of the Brahmo Samaj which he
represented did not make a lasting impression on the American
religious imagination.5 Far more significant in terms of long-term
influence was Swami Vivekananda, who visited the United States in 1893
and who was the most popular speaker at the World's Parliament of
Religions in Chicago. Vivekananda eventually gathered enough support
to establish the Vedanta Society in New York, an organization which,
because of its publishing activities, has had an influence out of
proportion to its membership. Another important Indian religious
teacher to enter the United States during this early period was Swami
Paramahansa Yogananda. In addition to the ongoing influence of his
organization, the Self-Realization Fellowship, his Autobiography of a
Yogi has inspired thousands of Westerners to undertake Eastern
spiritual disciplines.

Following the raising of immigration barriers in 1917, Asians were
unable to enter the United States in large numbers until after
these barriers were lowered in 1965. In the late sixties and early
seventies, a new wave of Indian gurus found a receptive audience among
young Americans seeking religious inspiration from nontraditional
sources. While the spiritual subculture of the seventies was
comprised of Buddhists, Sufis, and other non-Hindu groups, Indian
spiritual teachers were the most numerous (as well as, in the long
run, the most influential). This spiritual subculture, which was in
many ways the successor movement to the counterculture of the sixties,
led directly to the New Age movement of the eighties.

Your sources are impressive and "is spiritual subculture, which was in many ways the successor movement to the counterculture of the sixties, led directly to the New Age movement of the eighties." is very accurate. But neglecting to mention the influence of the Beatles (as per the answer marked as correct), which was enormous, is inexcusable IMO.
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user2590Jul 18 '13 at 8:08

This relates to the "discovery" of Asian, and other non-European cultures by Americans.

As of the middle of the 20th century, American society was pretty homogeneous, and "Eurocentric." An expression used is that American culture of about 1950 came in three flavors "chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry," like ice-cream.

We all know what happened to ice-cream tastes; they went from the above three flavors to the 31 of Baskin Robbins. A similar thing happened in the rest of American culture, and Indian and Bhuddist were included in the "31 flavors."

I would say the seed of interest in Indian/Hindu culture was sown when Swami Vivekananda visited America and spoke at the Conference of World Religions. Later a few gurus such as Srila Prabhupada, Paramahamsa Yogananda spread word in America. The rise of interest in the 20th century , of course, is largely due to the Indian immigrant population in America as well as the rise of interest and opportunities to travel the world.

"The rise of interest in the 20th century , of course, is largely due to the Indian immigrant population in America". "Of course"? Certainly not. Very incorrect IMO. Any source for your answer? See the answer marked as correct.
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user2590Jul 18 '13 at 8:11

In Hinduism and Buddhism there is message of peace and an encouragement to not be
materialistic. Also, spiritualism is a path that leads your spirit to "moksha", or freedom, and there is also the popularity of "yogasanas"and "pranayama" who tend to have strong influences on their followers.